Ritz Carlton to add Turks and Caicos to its Caribbean hotels portfolio

It has been reported that the nine-storey hotel to be developed along Grace Beach in Turks and Caicos will be a Ritz Carlton luxury resort rather than JW Mariott hotel as previously planned. With the prestigious brand now on board this is set to be the most significant hotel investment in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

News coming out of Turks and Caicos indicates that the world renowned Ritz Carlton will soon take over the eagerly anticipated JW Mariott hotel and casino development which was scheduled to be launched in early 2016.

"I am delighted to confirm that The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will indeed open a resort in beautiful Turks and Caicos' Grace Bay as part of the global development pipeline, sometime after 2016".

In mid 2013 Mariott announced that it had signed a long term agreement with Desarrollos Hotelco Turks and Caicos Ltd to develop the nine storey hotel on the popular Grace Bay beach.

It has now been reported that Desarrollos have already indicated the change of hands to Government officials. With Ritz Carlton now on board, the property is set to be the most expensive resort investment in Turks and Caicos as the luxury hotel brand is expected to completely re work the plans for the resort and give it the Ritz Carlton touch. As a result, it has been confirmed that there will be a delay to the launch of the luxury all inclusive resort.

Despite the delay, the reception to the news has been a positive one as most people are excited to welcome the prestigious Ritz Carlton brand to the Turks and Caicos. As one anonymous source put it:

"It is true to say that there will be a delay in what was supposed to be a JW Marriott Hotel and Casino in Grace Bay, but I also have to stress that it will be a very positive delay because the entire scope, scale and cost of the project will increase and this will be of tremendous benefit to the entire Turks and Caicos Islands. Let me put it like this. JW Marriott would have been a huge deal for the Turks and Caicos Islands, but Ritz-Carlton is definitely bigger and better".

The Ritz Carlton Caribbean hotels portfolio includes hotels in the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The Ritz Carlton's interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands comes as no surprise given that it is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean.

The islands were the fastest growing tourism destinations with a 30 per cent increase in the number of visitors in Q1 2014 when compared with the same period last year, outperforming other popular destinations like the Cayman islands, Dominican Republic, St Lucia and Barbados.